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Brandon Sanderson / Re: ***SPOLIERS Official Hero of Ages Spoilers Thread. Includes Q&A w/Brandon*
« on: October 22, 2008, 04:41:03 AM »
As a relatively new fan of Brandon’s work, I thought I’d thrown in my two cents. Cough.. boxings, I mean.
First, I’ll take a stab at answering a question:
Roader said:
And I’ll ask some questions of my own:
1. The 1st gen Kandra knew all about Ruin/Preservation, but apparently the Terris people didn’t, otherwise they wouldn’t have been duped. I figure Kwaan dug out the truth since we were told that he noticed Ruin changing the prophecies. How was the rest of the story discovered and passed on? How the heck did Kwaan or Rashek learn that Ruin was blinded by metal?
2. I was a little confused by the transition between Vin, broken and defeated, and Vin, the walking juggernaut. Were her broken bones healed by the infusion of Mist? Were they ignored through an enhancement of pewter? Was her body already beginning to become less corporeal?
Finally, some thoughts on the ending (I'll try to be a little original):
There are a few things that bothered me about the ending. For example, I’m not sure how I feel about Sazed becoming a god, or rather, thinking of himself as one. Although he inherited great power, humility was one of his defining personality traits. And his intense faith struggle seems to be undermined by his ascension. Who/what exactly was he struggling with if he himself becomes god at the end? (Admittedly the “Shards” discussion comforts me. Sazed needs something more ultimate, more fundamental, more mysterious, to continue trusting in, now that he's taken up the mantle of the Terris god. Ado might fit the bill)
Another thing: The humans hijack the whole epilogue. We’ve been told that Marsh and TenSoon live on, but the book itself leaves us in the dark. Marsh was the viewpoint character most tortured and twisted by Ruin. And TenSoon spends most of the book deciding to help Vin and trying to find Vin, but ‘kills’ himself and never gets to see even Vin’s corpse. I think they both needed one last brush stroke for us to be able to appreciate their tragedies and triumphs.
However, I honestly can’t agree with the negative reactions to Vin and Elend dying. Elend’s death was possibly my favorite scene in the whole book.
First, I’ll take a stab at answering a question:
Roader said:
Quote
4. Why would Atrim Mistings take extra time to heal from the mist attacks compared to other Mistings?Preservation was behind the whole mist sickness (as evidenced by the #16 phenomenon). Therefore, my guess is that Atium Mistings took longer to heal because Preservation made them sicker. It must have been trying to let people know that this group was important. Elend eventually got the message. And why couldn’t they have been Mistborn instead? Well, Mistborn are rarer, and there was a lot of Atium to be burned up.
And I’ll ask some questions of my own:
1. The 1st gen Kandra knew all about Ruin/Preservation, but apparently the Terris people didn’t, otherwise they wouldn’t have been duped. I figure Kwaan dug out the truth since we were told that he noticed Ruin changing the prophecies. How was the rest of the story discovered and passed on? How the heck did Kwaan or Rashek learn that Ruin was blinded by metal?
2. I was a little confused by the transition between Vin, broken and defeated, and Vin, the walking juggernaut. Were her broken bones healed by the infusion of Mist? Were they ignored through an enhancement of pewter? Was her body already beginning to become less corporeal?
Finally, some thoughts on the ending (I'll try to be a little original):
There are a few things that bothered me about the ending. For example, I’m not sure how I feel about Sazed becoming a god, or rather, thinking of himself as one. Although he inherited great power, humility was one of his defining personality traits. And his intense faith struggle seems to be undermined by his ascension. Who/what exactly was he struggling with if he himself becomes god at the end? (Admittedly the “Shards” discussion comforts me. Sazed needs something more ultimate, more fundamental, more mysterious, to continue trusting in, now that he's taken up the mantle of the Terris god. Ado might fit the bill)
Another thing: The humans hijack the whole epilogue. We’ve been told that Marsh and TenSoon live on, but the book itself leaves us in the dark. Marsh was the viewpoint character most tortured and twisted by Ruin. And TenSoon spends most of the book deciding to help Vin and trying to find Vin, but ‘kills’ himself and never gets to see even Vin’s corpse. I think they both needed one last brush stroke for us to be able to appreciate their tragedies and triumphs.
However, I honestly can’t agree with the negative reactions to Vin and Elend dying. Elend’s death was possibly my favorite scene in the whole book.
Quote
“Lost?” Elend whispered. “We’ve won, Marsh.”That line gave me chills. We have to be like Vin at the end of book 2: We have to accept their deaths because their willingness to make that sacrifice is what we love about them. Sacrifice is a key theme to the whole series. Yes, they died. They died triumphant.